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Everything posted by regfootball
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DRIVEN: 2015 Ford Escape SE FWD 1.6t Ecoboost, MSRP about 26,200 HIGHS: Not at all like the older Escapes we probably rode in or drove at one time in the past Fluid shape that many will like compared to boxier offerings A crossover can feel somewhat athletic on the road? This does... Because of nicely weighted and quick steering coupled with composed suspension and handling The engine joins in the fun, the 1.6t has a nice little torque burst, revs out nicely, and is quite smooth The transmission is well mated to the engine and kicks in quickly to help the fun Most cars in this price range these days don't even feel connected as much as this ....SUV VERY quiet on the road, and especially at highways speeds, one of the quieter crossovers The 1.6 apparently gets great real world highway mpg (if the sales talk is to be believed) Entry and exit, driving position, visibility, perfect; it's why crossovers are so popular Visibility part deux, lots of glass on this vehicle means good sightlines, unlike many CUV's now Nice gauges and driver controls / steering wheel. Good ergonomics for switches and things, and shifter Softer plastics in many places, great armrests and cupholders Fair amount of unexpected cabin width, and the second row seating position and footroom is good Second row seat folds low down to provide higher cargo height and still being close to flat. Lots of incentives right now, so actual prices are VERY good. 2.0 Ecoboost is available on a base SE FWD.....could be a sleeper at low cost for a CUV. All around, easy to drive and enjoy; doesn't pretend to be a truck. Perfect daily driver, the Edge is too big and soft compared to this LOWS: Some folks may think the shape and proportion is more minivan than SUV And some may think the styling, particularly the front end, is too busy Some folks have their opinions on the Ecoboosts and mpg or other issues The interior may be perceived as too monotone and lacking bling, and maybe looking cheaper in places The center stack, radio controls, screen and its whole relationship may be too roundish and too busy for some The center console and stack are a bit of a leg knocker A bit more second row leg room would be ok...why not a flexible seat like the Equinox? What else?........ SUMMARY: Wow, this has been out for awhile and I am a Ford fan and I had not yet driven one of these. I see them ALL OVER, though. Well, I see why. It drives great, the Ecoboost feels great, and is just enough size to be a great runaround. On trips this would excel also. The best price on the one i drove was under 22 grand and if its true that you really can get 34 mpg highway with it (EPA says 32), this is a nice blend of smaller size, larger space, good price, and great utility. Lots of other vehicles provide this of course, which is why crossovers are popular, but this struck me because of its carlike manners and refinement (with the 1.6). My bet is a base SE 2.0 would be quite the hot rod crossover for a lower price. Ford may have to do a good job with the coming refresh of the front end and hopefully the center stack of the dash. Even as it is now, I don't really have any issues with any of that. I heard my buddy complain all the time about the CRV they had leased (and after a Pilot and CRV they left Honda....for Toyota but that is another story). All the things I heard him complain about on that vehicle, I think he should have tried an Escape. This is fun and refined. For me this is one of the few times I have driven a crossover and thought, wow it really is just a nice taller car. A
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DRIVEN: 2015 Ford Edge AWD Titanium 2.0 msrp around 43,500 HIGHS: Retains the spot on take of the large crossover segment it invented and takes it to a grand new place Exterior styling not a big departure from the past recipe but its still fresh and new, its 'Crossover 2015' Front row is a great place to be, lots of comfort, space, girth, and a great view out the living room window Perfect, and I do mean that, perfect seat height and location for a vehicle like this..... Solid and stable ride, its a grand chariot and you sit back, enjoy the view, and eat up a whole bunch of miles Lots of toys in that big MSRP......huge moonroof and cooled seats Lots of bling and detail on the interior, but its not overdone, like a Fusion crossover interior but nicer still Ford now has buttons in addition to the touchscreens Revised 2.0 motor is appropriately smooth and creamy and can deliver up a nice little burst, almost no lag 2.0 is available with AWD this time around Big trunk area, lots of space to put what you collected at the mall. Really does ride / handle perform better than the previous gen The large crossover like this will continue to erode away the status of the large sedan, why even Taurus anymore? Will really make you question thinking about vehicles like the Explorer, and how much you need the third row. LOWS: Some folks won't notice the design changes from 2014 to 2015 (may be intentional) Front end takes on a bit of Hyundai, Ford I don't think you want that It may be fair to suggest that a bit more grunt would not be unwelcome on a vehicle at this price (2.3??) Steering / handling is more laid back for cruise mode, this would be a good vehicle to introduce some sportiness and athleticism Even with the new climate and radio buttons, the center stack looks a bit blah and you need to study where the buttons are at The huge moonroof thing, not sure it makes sense, other than to make your A/C work hard in summer At this price, the trunk needs to be trimmed out nicer, or at least nice....... Rear seat row, the cushions are a bit soft and low and not really sculpted, JUST LIKE THE LAST EDGE..... A little bit more second row leg room would be ok I personally think the Edge and MKz are too pricey but I admit Ford gets their money for this thing. Driving this probably telegraphs that you live in a suburb You'll probably still get a German rig if you really want a German rig no matter how good this is. SUMMARY: If you don't need a third row, but still want a large vehicle, and don't want a sedan, I pretty much think the list begins and ends here, with this and the MKZ. Ford pretty much has built here a replica of what the market wants and where the market is at on these things. Seating position, ride, handling, packaging, options, Maybe its just not cheap enough for lots who will want it. I try to think who else in at least the US or Asian makes that can match this thing and I don't see it. GM's good crossovers are 3 rows. Toyota already gave up on the Venza. Murano might be the closest match here and it too is a success. But I have a hard time seeing how the new cheesy styling, cheaper interior, and CVT's will make that thing feel as solid as the Edge. If you want your Audi Q or BMW X, you are still going to get that anyways, because you're that way. Ford didn't really miss on anything here, aside from its pricing touches parts where some would expect a third row or a German badge. But its been successful before and there is no reason to believe it won't continue as such in a segment it pretty much created or helped create. Myself personally I would want quicker steering and a tish more power but thats about it. I would buy a less loaded one as well. Perhaps the FWD version covers a lot of that. You drive this and pretty much want to say, yeah, I think I am close to being done with sedans. A- for those who think twice due to price, but A for those who line up with credit aps and just say, get it done, its only money..
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i took an escape out today and hope to get that review up and posted tonight if i can. it surprised me, i liked it a lot.
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great review, it was fun to read that. thanks for posting.....awesome
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http://www.caranddriver.com/mazda/mazda-6
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the mazda powertrains don't feel snappy. How's that.
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Nissan could learn from GM of the past, keep your engines up to date. Let it linger too long, then you have a long ways to catch up later....
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- Maxima
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Well all the other Asian makes are in love with the CVTs now too. The Subaru boxer motor isn't all that creamy. The toyotas are never to write home about. Maybe this is a new tactic for all the Asian cars
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- Almost Killed
- Maxima
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in the instance someone is cross shopping the Trax and Renegade, i think the interior space advantage the Renegade has could be killer. Kia's Sould doesn't have AWD and really is not their competitor here, but I was checking MSRP's on those today for kicks, and I found it crazy that most of the MSRP's on those are getting up in that territory of the Renegades and Trax as well (FWD's at least).. It is scary the asking prices on these small rides. Conversely today I saw that Ford is really breaking out incentives on the Escape nowadays. They are really cheap to buy right now and I don't mean just the S model. One shop I looked at had a FWD 2.0 Escape for like 22 and change, that was almost 7 grand off. With the new Edge coming in and trying to seek high transaction prices, and with Ford having no direct competitor in the Trax type segment, I think Ford has a strategy of dumping Escapes for market share....now that this new body has been out for awhile. If I were shopping and were drawn to the Renegade or Trax, I think the Escape prices would bring me in for a test drive and to be honest their value proposition would probably be what wins me over right now. I'm not sure Ford wants to be in the small CUV segment to be honest.
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DRIVEN: 2016 Mazda Mazda6 Sport 2.5 AT HIGHS: For many, quite a rakish look in the blah midsize sedans segment. Looks sinister in certain colors with gunmetal wheels. Knockout cabin, in particular when fitted with white seats and dash accents. Like the Mazda3, its very reminiscent of German designs like BMW and its done fantastic. Great materials. Ergonomics and controls all down pat. Control wheel for the screen is a nice add. Like the engine in the Mazda 3, the 2.5 has pep and goes about its business with almost 'just enough' power for most. Linear power delivery and within decent smoothness. Automatic trans seems well mated to the car's power output. Backseat accommodates many, even if leg room is a little less than competitors. Comfort is good for size given. Seats well shaped. Very confident this rig will get advertised mpg, which is quite good. Feels stable on the road. "Good" ride, handling, steering. Linear and predictable action in all the controls. Seems quieter than the 2014 model. Good value for the price, and feeling of a well made piece. The fact that I could duplicate many of these same good attributes from the Mazda3 test drive, yes the cars feel very much the same. LOWS: Needs a bit more punch, and lacks torque. Needs a sweet spot in the powerband somewhere, otherwise, this is merely just a motor. Auto tranny tries, but you might want to sample the stick. Hey Mazda, do a turbo. Not as bad as the tires on the Mazda3, but these OEM's weren't great. Again, like the Mazda3, there is nothing elevated driving experience. There is no zoom zoom in the ride, handling or steering. Steering in fact felt pretty slow. I am still liking the Passat and Fusion ahead of this. In particular I don't see this Mazda doing anything the Fusion doesn't already do as well or better, with the only exception being the BMW knockoff interior. Improved noise level inside doesn't come with all road surfaces, some pavement types will bring a fair amount of tire noise back inside. Like the Mazda3, to me this car struggles to compel you to buy it with any one superior feature. No performance version in a car and brand that advertises it inside and out is pretty lame. Yes, I understand I was not testing the top end model........ SUMMARY: Again, this will be similar to my Mazda3 review, except i think more criticism can be laid down here. Don't expect any sizzle with the steak as far as elevated performance here. Yes, it's a nice uptick over a Camry or an Altima, but this really is not a driver's car yet. The magazine buff books are do desperate to crown a king in this segment that has some life in it and so they don't have to heap all the praise on Honda. So its almost like they are giving a trophy to anyone who half heartedly tries. I do give Mazda props for the interior updates, they are knockout, and in fact if you tell me you love this car for merely the styling, interior, and pleasant drive for a Japanese brand, I say that's bangup. But that's only because the Camry's and Altimas are so low bar. Mazda up until now has had to spread their resources real thin, and so I imagine this body will be around several years. The fact that they remade the interior so quickly and integrated the new screen and control wheel, it shows me they are committed to keeping this design fresh. So I have to believe they have some things in the works for the future for performance here. I can't blame anybody for liking the car, as it is good or very good. But it's not king of the class. It's probably in the top 3 or 4. The Fusion is still really the car that will satisfy the biggest cross section of buyers. Mazda really desperately needs to get a version of this car out that has a killer motor and damn great steering and handling, and leverage their supposed elevated driving experience rep. Maybe the upper trim does? Buy it, you are not in any way getting a bad car, but for all the hype, its still a bit away from delivering on that IMO....... B+
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yeah, they are mimicking the Germans and the screen sticking up out of the dash thing........
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Because Nissan has just about given up on anything that isn't a CVT. With everyone trying different things to get better fuel mileage for CAFE standards, Nissan's biggest push in that direction so far really has been CVT everything. It has it's good and it's bad points, it isn't horrible for those looking for an appliance, but they need to get their heads out of their rears and realize that if they are going to label something as a sports car it definitely should not be running a CVT. Their CVT has been really good at hiding the deficiencies of their 4-cylinder engines in the NVH department. is that how Nissan gets away with their ancient engines too?
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- Almost Killed
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not attractive, based upon this pic. Maybe GM will buy Tesla, then we won't have Musk to deal with.
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nice, seats look better too
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Jeep News: Rumorpile: Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
regfootball replied to William Maley's topic in Jeep
LOL@Drew's post.... There is no reason for this thing to exist IMO- 14 replies
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- Grand Cherokee
- Hellcat
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a 1.6t or 1.8t and 8 speed auto would be nice on the Nox. But would the rest of the chassis be up to date then.....2.5 is not great.... They got rid of the CD player, how is that for an interior upgrade? (fossils like me still buy cds and use them in the car, sometimes)
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MKZ exterior needs no work, its stunning. The fusionesque interior needs to go, it needs a luxury car interior. 2.7 TT v6 would be the best motor for this rig.......2.3 would be a great base motor........
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concur. i think they like to think their stores are like apple stores for cars. You can't pull that off with stores that are not real bricks and mortar.
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i have to admit, i like the styling of the crossblue and to be honest if it were available when we got our town and country recently (over Traverse and Explorer) I think it may have taken the crown. But I would still have leased......never BUY a VW.....is what i hear
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- Chattanooga
- Crossblue
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DRIVEN: 2015 Mazda Mazda3 Sport 2.0 MT, msrp 19,265 (no options) HIGHS: Attractive and intimate driver cockpit, simple, ergonomic, and somewhat reminiscent of a BMW or Audi design inside. Comfortable drivers chair, and more cabin girth than you'd expect. All controls well laid out. Touchscreen with secondary control wheel and pushbutton start included in sport trim 2.0 has pep and goes about its business with 'just enough' power for most, while not being offensive from the smoothness standpoint. Power delivery is VERY linear. Manual trans shifter, while not 'sublime', falls into line of 'very good' and with what you would expect from advance billing Despite not having a lot of room (and the silly cab rear packaging), the backseat is actually a comfortable place for a girthy six footer, due to the shape and height of the seats, the size of the footwell, and the sculpting of the rear of the front seatbacks. Good mpg numbers which i have no doubt are capable of being met real world. "Good" ride, handling, steering. Not a Sentra or Corolla. Linear and predictable action in all the controls. Fairly quiet for a car in this class on the road. Good value for the price Feeling of a well made piece. LOWS: How much more room and space could this car have had without the silly cab rear styling? Styling which, while a bit classy, is tepid at best. Sport model interior is too much black inside, and the cloth needs an upgrade. Non turbo mill has no torque burst anywhere. Always only just barely enough, no "sweet spot" You feel a little bit of mechanics in the shifter at times. Terrible choice of OEM tires (Bridgestone Ecopia, there for mpg) put mush in the steering and dull the road holding Entertainment system and control knob / screen were gonna take a while to figure out (this is why we need Apple CarPlay) I don't see this car as having a much elevated driving experience above competitors like Golf and Fusion and to be honest in some ways really the Cruze is the best car in the class for a lot of folks. Why is Mazda trying to look Euro when people in the US loved its Japanese Pontiac styling of the previous gen? Driving experience is simply not enough in this trim and powertrain to warrant a performance car or driver's car image (even if it hints a little at it) Car does not compel you to buy it with any one superior feature. SUMMARY While this car is a well made quality piece that will please an owner with its goodness, to me it teeters on the edge of what hype says about this car. In this trim and powertrain, this is not a 'driver's car'. You are not getting something here that you are not capable of getting in some other cars in this same class. For example, I don't believe that a Civic or Focus wouldn't drive as nice. I bet the new Golf is a better car. To me, the current since 2011 Cruze has a superior powertrain and yes, shifter. So this is not a bad car at all, but don't wade into the pristine clear water river created by the buff books here. Perhaps the higher trim level gets you what you would expect here from a performance standpoint, and even then, the only engine options are the 2.0 and 2.5 non turbo. Toyota as the GM of Japan now has crafted an empire where Subaru is the AWD Toyota division, and apparently Mazda must be headed for the 'Toyota that drives decent' division. If you must use that standard, a better driving Toyota, then it excels. But the car needs some tweaks before it is a step above the competition IMO. I think Mazda spent what little resources it had the last few years working on fuel efficiency and a couple new products, and because so, they simply haven't been able to divert attention to zoom zoom anymore. It shows here (and will in my Mazda6 review too). Where i end up is actually with a semi offensive statement, to some. For a Japanese make car, its pretty good and probably an A-. In the realm of the whole market, I would expect a car of this billing and hoopla to have a little more engine and definitely tighter ride and handling (and certainly not $h!ty Bridgestone Ecopia tires). This car has a lot of potential yet, though and that is reason to be positive and optimistic. This is just a good, solid, pleasing car, if you aren't assigning inflated performance expectations to it. B+ now time for me to find a Golf to drive.......and save my pennies for a 16 Cruze...... By the way, if Toyota is Mazda's overlord now, where does this leave Scion? And probably some will say next time test the Grand Touring model.....
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No no, I think you misunderstood me. I'm saying that the 'Nox is almost the size of a GC, so $28k isn't a bad price for one..... but at $34k for a smaller CR-V I would have second thoughts when not getting a V6. (that said, you can get a Terrain Denali with an I4 for Grand Cherokee Limited money, but hey, it's your money) gotcha. The Equinox is the seller it is because it is one of the few GM vehicles that is packaged well. Lots of first and second row room for its class. I am worried what GM will do to it downsizing it. Even if the interiors are out of date, i think the design of the dash is well done still. Chevy could have stood to have upgraded the seat cloth and door panels a bit, i think. If GM merely did interior upgrades and an all new powertrain in the thing, they could continue to sell it with the same body style for 3 more years easy.
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for me, just having the music interface be on the dash instead of my phone, will be great. i have had apple devices and itunes for many years. my library is stored on one computer and then since itunes knows that, i can stream what i own on my phone with my unlimited data, i don't need to copy it to the device. the biggest problem has been having to run it on the phone, my cobalt with USB i can go through menus but it is nowhere near as easy as using the phone itself. having the same interface on the dash will be holy grail. Now if i can check email on the dash when the car is parked i will be super giddy.
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- 2016 Lineup
- 2016 Model Year
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Gonna call your bluff and ask you to find the Equinox with a sticker price of 28 grand and a v6. A discounted price, maybe, but not an MSRP.
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its a sports car compared to the cream puff Altima. The Max is the only car left aside from the Z with any kind of performance image. And people still love Maximas. I think they did this new one right, aside from the CVT, because of how different it is than the Altima. They really should keep a traditional automatic or DCT in the Max. I was reading FB posts on a post Nissan made about the Maxima and clearly people love Maximas. But what was also funny were how many people were complaining about blown CVT's.....
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this is 5 years late but considering how well audi crossovers sell and how desperately German wannabees want a German crossover but won't have the cash, this should sell well if VW prices it right. then they also better build it right too
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- Chattanooga
- Crossblue
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